Mattel promotes 35 years of Uno
By Adnews Staff
Toy company Mattel has begun a campaign to promote the 35th anniversary of the car game Uno in Canada. The initiative, developed by Youthography of Toronto, involves the distribution of specially-packaged Uno decks on Via Rail trains and at East Side Mario’s restaurants for customers to play. Inserts in the decks direct consumers to a website at <http://www.wheredoyouuno.com> at which visitors can play the game online and enter a draw for Via travel vouchers and East Side Mario’s gift cards. The game is also being promoted on YTV with 15- and 30-second ads directing viewers to the website. This phase of the campaign began on Nov. 6 and will run for two weeks. The contest will remain open until Nov. 30. “We wanted to play up on the heritage of the brand in its 35th year, but do it in relevant way that would resonate with kids and families in 2006,” said Alice Choe, the agency’s manager of youth marketing. “By creating a website that would let you play Uno, and with partnership integration with Via and East Side Mario’s, we were able to tie our real-world brand experience with the online experience for the length of the campaign.”